The
Glaciator is an "Integrated Augmented Fan Heatsink". Constructed from a solid block of copper, the fin section of this heatsink is so finely constructed
it will put even the venerable CAK38 to shame. What's more, the Glaciator employ's some interesting technology designed to reduce the amount of noise it produces, but not cut back on pure performance.

The large solid copper Glaciator was developed from a long line of prototype heatsinks by Andrew Lemont of Lemont Aircraft Corp. The reasons why the Glaciator is such a unique cooling solution relates to the patented (5292088, 5895917) technologies it makes use of.

MTS have used a technology originally created to quiet cooling fans. These augmented fans had slits cut into the airfoil which surrounds the fan blades. In Laymen's terms the slits augment the way the air moves as it passes thru the fan so that it produces less noise (between 3-10 dBa lower).

The fan on the Glaciator
sits within the heatsink in a machined rest. With this method of securing the
fan to the copper heatsink the Glaciator is able to take advantage of several
characteristics relating to airflow. The
following image, taken from the patent on this technology, illustrates the unique
airflow paths that occur with the Augmented fan system.

The cool intake air is represented by the blue arrows, and the
warm exhaust air by the orange arrows. The setup not only allows the cool air to
be drawn in from the top of the heatsink, but also from the side, overtop of the
horizontal fins. The effect on overall cooling is hard to judge by these
extra airflow patterns, but it is an interesting technique none the
less.

The base is cut from a solid chunk
of copper, but the top portion of the Glaciator is assembled from some cut
pieces of thin copper. The top section is soldered together and also soldered to
the base along the edges.

The solder appears to be mainly acting as a means for holding
the assembly together, rather than as a thermal conduit. A few gaps exist along
the side of the top portion, and the soldering along the bottom edge is not
completely consistent.